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Monday, September 24, 2012

Georgetown is back. Well it’s really not the college
basketball powerhouse it used to be back in the days of Patrick Ewing, Dikembe
Mutumbo and Alonzo Mourning but it has produced two of the NBA’s best
up-and-coming centers: the Detroit Pistons’ Greg Monroe and the Indiana Pacers’
Roy Hibbert.

Hibbert is already an
All-Star and has been a playoff participant as a member of the Pacers for the
past two seasons. While he isn’t the most consistent scorer, he has proven to
be a reliable rebounder and has been their defensive anchor with his impressive
shot-blocking ability.

Monroe’s Pistons haven’t been as successful on the court as
Hibbert’s Pacers but Monroe has greatly expanded his game during his two
seasons in the league.

And if sources are correct, Monroe will be an even greater
offensive force in his third season with the Pistons. Monroe has spent the
entire off-season working on his conditioning, footwork and over-all game.

He spent time with a trainer early during the off-season
then got in some work first with Kevin Love for two weeks in Los Angeles before
going back to Georgetown to work on his footwork with another former Georgetown Hoya,
Othella Harrington.

Monroe also played in the Summer League in Orlando so he
could get comfortable with some of his new teammates and participated in Tim
Grgurich’s camp in Las Vegas. Detroit’s coaching staff hope that all the hard
work Monroe has put in will translate to him having a big season this year.

Or better yet, a big season for the Pistons. The Pistons
have missed the playoffs the past three seasons and Monroe provides their biggest
hope of reaching the playoffs this upcoming season.

And with the Pistons and Pacers both in the same division,
having two Georgetown centers fighting for playoff position year in and year
out could be epic. Almost a throwback to the Mourning-Ewing battles during the
90’s.

It would also be great to have the center position return to
the level of prominence it once endured. The only players that currently
receive any mention when centers are brought up are Dwight Howard and Andrew
Bynum. It’s time for some new blood at the position.

And Georgetown may have just provided the answer to the NBA’s
hole in the middle.